Women History Month
We have all heard of Amelia Earhart, Josephine Baker and Virginia Wolfe. You can find out more about these women at Women History Month. The History of National Women's History Month details how March was set aside for the history of women. The women I want to profile were unprecedented for their time. They showed courage in the face of death, settled disputes before women was recognized as judges and showed loyalty and devotion in a very unlikely situation.
Esther was made Queen. The king fell in love with Esther and she found favor in his eyes. He was smitten by Esther. Esther was Jewish and had been adopted by one of her relatives. She followed the advice given by her guardian and kept her family background and race a secret. Esther continued to listen to her guardian. Esther was very brave and approached the king without being invited into his chamber. She risked death to help her people. She boldly spoke up. She pleaded with the king to put an end to the evil plot against the Jews. To get all the details of the story refer to The Book of Esther.
Deborah was a prophetess and she was judge of Israel and held court under a palm tree, the Palm of Deborah. The people came to her to have their disputes resolved. Deborah listened to God. She passed along God's instructions and judged fairly. She was even created with winning a battle. To find out more read Judges chapter 4.
Ruth followed her mother-in-law, Naomi, back to Naomi's native land. Ruth told Naomi, "Don't force me to leave you; don't make me go home. Where you go, I go; and where you live, I'll live. Your people are my people, your God is my god; where you die, I'll die, and that's where I'll be buried, so help me God-not even death itself is going to come between us!" When back in Naomi native land, Ruth offered to go work in the field to glean for leftover grain to provide for Naomi. Ruth became the mother of Obed; Obed had Jesse, Jesse the father of King David. The lineage continues and connects to Jesus. Read the entire heartfelt story in Ruth.
The Book of Deborah, Judges and Ruth can all be found at Bible Gateway. Check it out to find out more about these fascinating women and their historical significance.
